Turning the world Up-side down
by Nathaniel D. McDrain
Summary: What if Monkey D. Garp joined the Roger pirates instead of the Marines?How will this affect the future of pirates?
1. The Beginning

**Hey people,I'm back with a new fanfiction. I'm sorry that I have been so inconsistent in my writing,but my muse has been gone for a good while. Anyway; I'm here with my first ever One Piece story. I hope you all enjoy,read and review if you want, and I'll reply to any DM's I get. Flamers,beware;you will be neglected and ignored.**

Chapter 1: Turning the world up-side down

It was a quiet day in Foosha Village,the sun was out and everone who wasn't working,either as fishermen,lumberjacks or other things, were enjoying the weather. On the outskirts of the village laid a strip of beach near an almost-destroyed pier. It was on this beach 16-year old Monkey D. Garp currently was snoozing after a day of insane training. What he was training for? The marine intern program,which was held to islands over,at the closest marine base. Little did Garp know that fate had other plans...

-Later-

"Oy,wake up!" **SMACK** the pain of being struck by bamboo on his shin caused Garp to wake up,a look promising pain to his assailant. "Ouch! What the hell?!" Garp yelled as he got up and looked around to find that the sun was about to set. "Oh,don't be so cranky stranger,here,have some food" the newfound stranger said as he offered a meat on the bone to the surprisingly starving Garp before going back to a campfire holding more food. Garp reluctantly accepted as he sat down closer to the fire. "Do I know you?" he asked. The stranger sat almost with his back towards him while uttering a simple: "Nope!" before grabbing his own meat and started chewing. Garp just stared at him suspiciously before he started eating himself. "Why are you feeding me?" he asked. "Figured you'd be hungry,after what the villagers have told me" the stranger replied. Garps mood soured. "Oh? And what have they said about me?" he asked as he finished eating and started looking out to the sea. The stranger finished his meal before looking out the same direction. "I've heard that you're powerful,but stupid, a brute that would never amount to anything" he replied. Garp started getting pissed before he calmed down. "Yeah,maybe they're right at that too. But that's why I've been training so hard for the past six years. I'm aiming to enter the Marines next year, to show everyone I have what it takes to succeed" Garp said as his expression showed nothing but pure determination. The stranger tilted his head. "Oh? And here I was about to ask you if you wanted to join me at sea with my crew instead." Garps eyes narrowed. "Crew? Are you a pirate?" Garp asked. The stranger nodded. "I am a pirate,indeed but not the murdering,pillaging type. I aim for nothing but adventure and freedom. The pirates who kill and pillage for fun gives the rest of us a bad name, and frankly,I can't stand those types." the stranger stod up and started walking back to the village as he said: "We leave tomorrow if you're interested, kid. By the way kid, what's your name?" Garp hesitated before saying: "Monkey D. Garp, and yours?" The stranger grinned,his strawhat covering his eyes. "You'll find out tomorrow if you show up. If not, good luck next year." the stranger walked away,leaving Garp to his thoughts. He had a lot to think about before tomorrow...

-The Next Day-

The harbor by Foosha village was busy with people carrying crates and barrels to and from ships,even if it was only 7 A.M. Nearby stood an indesicive Monkey D. Garp. He had laid up most of the night,thinking of the conversation he had with the mysterious person the night before. He still wasn't sure about what the person meant with being a pirate who only wants freedom,but he decided to give the man one more chance to persuade him. He was getting close to the harbor when he heard a voice behind him: "So you have decided to join?" there was the mystery guy from the previous night. Garp shook his head. "Answer me one question first before I decide" the person tilted their head,still covered by the strawhat. "What is your definition of freedom?" Garp asked. The stranger smirked. "Freedom is the option to things your own way,without limits. It is a way of living that everyone can enjoy, despite what the Marines or World Government says. It is to live life without restrictions or limitations. That is my and my crews definition of freedom. So what do you say,kid? Want to turn the world up-side down with me?" Garp looked down for a moment. "What is the name I'm sailing under...Captain?"

The Strawhat grinned wider than ever before saying a name that would shortly be known around the world...

"Gol D. Roger"

**Yeah,yeah, I know,short chapter. I fully intend to deliver longer chapters in the future. But I figured it worked for being the first chapter. What do you guys think? Like it?Love it? Hate it? Constructive criticism is always welcome! Please leave a review! Until next time!**


	2. Death of a King

**Hey people,it's me again! I'm back with another installment of my One Piece story. I'm thrilled to get properly started with this,because I've never seen another Pirate Garp fanfiction, so I thank each and every one who reads this for following, and feel free to DM me about questions for either of my stories(No,I have not abandoned any of them!) or suggestions that makes sense to you for one reason or another,or simply to say hi,I'm happy to respond either way! Flamers,Don't bother!**

**Anyway,enough of my insane rambling,here we go!**

Chapter 2: Training,Travelling and Timeskip!

It had been a month since they left Foosha village,and Garp had found his routine.

The crew was relatively small, only 10 people,which made it easy to divide shifts in the crow's nest into pairs. Roger insisted on taking the shifts with Garp, for reasons unknown. The only one who could say what their captain was thinking when he made decisions was the first mate, a lean,blonde 18-year old Silvers Rayleigh. He had been picked up by Roger when the latter had been drifting around in a dinghy, about a year or so ago. Today,Garp felt anxious for some reason. Roger had mentioned that he wanted to spar with Garp to see what he could do. Apparently,the whole crew was anxious to see what "the new kid" could do,and Garp was determined to not dissapoint. He had dressed himself in white pair of training pants,white and blue sneakers,and a white tank top who showed off his well-built upper body. As Garp started loosening up,he saw Roger come towards him,bare-chested with a pair of black sweatpants and bare-footed. He stood straight as Roger adressed him: "Remember kid,this is training,not a real fight. Nevertheless, I would like to see what you can do,and we can work on anything we may find lacking later,okay?" Garp frowned,but nodded to show that he understood as he got in a ready stance. Roger stood maybe a head's height taller than he did,but Garp showed no fear,After all, the monkeys in the Jungle on Dawn Island was bigger, and Garp had been wrestling them for three years before he got recruited. As he saw Roger drop down into a stance,Garp saw his chance to get going and as fast as he could,he jumped,aiming his knee to the back of his captain's head. What he did not expect was for his captain to move his head just as he was about to impact,resulting in Garp crashing into the deck. "I hope that's not all you've got kid,cause I haven't even started yet" Roger said with a smirk. Roger grit his teeth slightly before he calmed himself and smirked back at his captain. "Don't worry,that was only the warm-up" he said as he went back into his stance as he analyzed the crouched stance Roger stood in,legs spread,upper body lowered to a 90 degree angle,and his left fist stretched to touch the deck. Just as Garp prepared to launch another attack,Roger launched himself at him at a speed Garp was hard pressed to follow. However,being able to see your opponent means nothing if you don't have the reaction to dodge the attack,thus Garp was hit with a clothesline from hell curtesy of his captain. The attack wasn't overly powerful,but still enough to launch Garp across the deck. Roger stood up. "Come on need to get your speed up before you can beat me. I'm planning for us to reach the Grand Line in a couple of months,and you need to be trained up properly in order to be ready for it." Roger said in a serious tone. Garp sat up, took a deep breath and said: "I'l do my best to meet your expectations captain!" In the same serious tone. Roger smirked. "That's all I'm asking for,kid,you ready to go again?" Garp just grinned in response and launched himself towards Roger.

Days and weeks flew continued his training with Roger on a daily basis and it became a hobby among the other crewmembers to place bets on their sparring the two new cabin boys, a red-haired kid by the name of Shanks and a clown-nosed kid with blue hair by the name of Buggy,seemed to enjoy the action the crew got from these fights,and as time passed by,Garp even managed to beat Roger in more and more fights. Despite this,Garp had grown much,especially in the intellect department. Thanks to his fights with Roger and some of his other crewmates,Garp had become somewhat of an expert strategist when it came to fights, but he had also taken to reading through a lot of books on history,navigation, and other things. His temper had calmed down greatly since he took meditation advice from Rayleigh, who despite himself was quite big and mucular,was a lot more level-headed than Garp,or even Roger at times. Even so,with all his training and studying on the side with his other duties aboard the ship,Garp had found himself at peace. He truly felt that he had a purpose and never once regretted leaving the opportunity to join the marines behind.

One day,as Garp was reading up on his navigational skills(he was taking the next shift as helmsman) he heard a call of "Land Hoy!" from the crow's nest above. He rushed up on deck with all the other crew members to see that,indeed they had reached the next island. "Take a good look boys! That is Loguetown, the final stop before Reverse Mountain and the Grand Line! We will stop by here to resupply, and we'll head to the Grand Line tomorrow!" Roger called from behind Garp. The rest of the crew cheered,but Garp took a look at his captain and saw a look of...Regret?Sorrow? Garp couldn't quite place it,but it was obvious his captain looked troubled. Rayleigh came over to them. "Mind if I take Garp with me captain? I was thinking of finding him a weapon that might suit him"he said as he patted Garp's shoulder,despite Garp being almost as tall as himself. Roger nodded. "Good idea,Ray. Bring me bottle of the finest homebrew you can find on this island,will you? I have the adress for it here. And tell the boys to be back before nightfall" Roger said as he slipped a note to Rayleigh. Ray nodded. "Alright,we'll be back before the sun is down. Come on,Garp,let's find you a weapon" he said as a led a confused Garp off the ship.

As they walked down the street,Garp asked: "Is the captain alright?he looked troubled when we left". Rayleigh sighed and nodded. "The captain's fine Garp. He only stayed behind because this is his home village". Garp was shocked for a moment,but he quickly calmed himself. After all,if he had been in his captain's shoes and it had been Foosha Village they docked at,he would've most likely stayed behind as well. Rayleigh seemed to notice Garps train of thought because he said: "This is why we're on the sea. Not to run away from a troubled past,but to prove those who doubted us wrong. This is why we train and why we study. To learn as much as needed to navigate ourselves in this troubled world we live in."Garp thought about it,and it made sense to him. The marines were in place to solve crimes and keep order, by the order of the World Government. The exception to those rules were the Celestial Dragons,who could litterarily do whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted without repercussions or punishment. What then were pirates there for? Garp smiled slightly as he thought of what his captain had said: "_Pirates are just the term the governments use to say that adventures are forbidden. We are not criminals,if anything,we are freedom fighters; We are fighting for our own freedom,and the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest"_ Garp had taken his captains philosophy to heart,and reasoned to himself that if mankind can not explore the world,how can mankind be expected to live in peace?

Garp was shook out of his thoughts when Rayleigh stopped. "Here we are,let's find you a weapon first, before we buy anything else" he said as he led Garp into the small shop. The man behind the counter smiled at the two before asking: "Welcome, what can I help you with?" Rayleigh smiled. "We need a weapon for my young friend here, he has a fighting style that heavily relies on his fists" he said,to which Garp grumbled: "2 years,I'm only 2 years younger than you,you cocky bastard", causing Rayleigh to grin a little. The man behind the counter was thrilled. "Oh, a close-range fighter,eh? Not often I have a customer like that in here. Nonetheless,I think I have what you want in the back,if you'll excuse me for a couple of minutes,feel free to browse through the rest of my wares, if you'd like" he said before dissappearing into the back room. Garp did as suggested,browsing through the different weapons on display, from katanas to maces,to daggers,guns and staffs in different sizes and in different materials. As he was browsing through the staffs,he noticed a small handle which caught his attention. He plucked it out of the shelf it was on and studied it closer. It was clearly made of metal,but the end he was holding was wrapped in foam of some kind. He was about to call Rayleigh over to see it,but just then did the shopkeeper come out from the back with a pair of brass knuckles in one hand and a box in the other. "I knew I had something here!" he exclaimed with a grin. Garp hurriedly put the handle away, putting it in his pocket without the clerk knowing it as he walked over to the desk to see what the man has found,Rayleigh coming up behind Garp. The shopkeeper explained: "These brass knuckles hasn't seen action in years,I'm afraid,but the tale I got from the man who sold me this was that they wouldn't work for him properly. What he meant with that was that apparently the user needed to be able to punch with a greater force than he did,to the point where one would have to break boulders with their bare hands to use them efficiently. If that is true,I have no idea,but I think you'll be able to work with them quite well" he said as he gave the knuckles over to Garp,who eagerly took them on and squeezed his hands tightly together as hard as he could to get a feel for them. As he did,he felt a sudden tremor in the ground underneath his feet,which caused him to loosen his grip,and the tremors stopped. Apparently both Rayleigh and the clerk both noticed it too,as they both looked at him,causing Garp to take off the knuckles and place them on the counter with a sheepish grin.

The clerk said with wide eyes and said: "Excuse me young man,but were you the cause for the slight quake just now?" I-I don't know,all I did was to clench my fists to see how they fit,nothing else" Garp said honestly. The clerk looked at him suspiciously before he closed his eyes and said: "I see. In that case I can't see any other choice but to give you these free of charge" making Garp open his eyes comically. "Oi,Ossan. What do you mean? I don't want to ruin your buisness!" he yelled as he slammed his hands down on the counter. The man looked at him with a smirk. "Kid,you don't know how much untapped potential you have and nor do I for that matter. All I know is that with those brass knuckles, yours will be a famous name over the entire Grand Line!" he exclaimed. Garp calmed a bit down and looked to Rayleigh,who took the hint and told the man: "Sir,we appreciate the offer,but we cannot in good concience accept charity when we can easily afford your wares", but the man only brushed him off. "I know you guys are pirates,but that's not my problem. If word of my weapons reach out,that would make people buy more of my other weapons,so I only want one thing in exchange for those knuckles: A promise to become a famous man,wether legal or not does not matter. Just make sure the Grand Line hears your name!" the man said making both Garp and rayleigh tense up before both breathing a sigh of relief and with a smile Garp said: "Don't worry Ossan! The world will learn the name Monkey D. Garp! I promise!" Rayleigh just looked at Garp and chuckled silently before he spoke up. "Hey kid,don't forget to get something for medium range as well. You don't need a gun,we have snipers for that,but you don't always have one at your back,nor do you always have your enemy at close range,so it would be a good idea to get some throwing knives or something like it" he said making Garp nod before he remembered the strange hilt he saw earlier and ran over to get it and showed it to Rayleigh and the shopkeeper. "I found this in one of the shelves,do you know what it is?" he said as he held it in his palm. "Ah,that is a fine knife indeed. The hilt is bone of a Sea King,and the blade itself is made of Sea Stone Prism, extremely useful when fighting Devil Fruit users. The likelyhood of this knife breaking is nonexistent. In fact,I have more of the materials in the back,if you have a blacksmith at your crew,otherwise I could make you a set of throwing knives for the sum of 5000 Berries,is that acceptable?" Garp was so shocked over the information that it fell to Rayleigh to answer. "That would be very generous of you,how fast can you have it done?" he asked. The shopkeeper took a thinking and thought aloud: "Hmm, a set of ten throwing knives of Sea King bone and Sea Stone Prism...I'd say I'd have them done in a couple of hours" he said as he looked at them with a smile. Rayleigh smiled back and said: "It's a 'll be back later today then." He shook the clerk's hand and led a still shocked Garp out of the store.

Finally out of the store,Garp recovered and was pretty happy about getting such awesome weapons. He saw the logic in Rayleigh's words about him not always having the enemy at close range,so he decided to get a belt with holsters for the knives. He found one at a clothes shop close to the weapons store for a cheap price,so he now donned a leather belt across his chest. Their next stop was a small house in an almost abondoned street on the edge of town. Without warning Rayleigh stopped and opened a door,so fast that Garp almost got hit by it,had it not been for the fact that Garp had trained up his reaction and speed. "Oi,what the hell?" Garp said before Rayleigh told him to be quiet and to follow him inside. Well inside Rayleigh closed the door and turned to Garp. "While we're here,you'd better be quiet. The ones we're seeing now is related to Roger,so let me stand for the talking,is that clear?" he asked,making Garp nod. "Good. Now follow me" Rayleigh said as he opened a door that led to a staircase downstairs. They walked down in silence until they entered a lit room that upon further inspection,were full of shelves with bottles of amber liquids. They walked among the shelves for what seemed like an hour,but in reality was only 10 minutes, until they got to the office of whoever ran the place. Rayleigh knocked on the door twice, before a drunken voice called out: "Come in!" and so they did. The woman who ran the shop was reluctant to sell to pirates until Rayleigh brought up the name of their captain. The woman had known Roger since his early days before he set sail,and had promised him a bottle of Whisky upon his return. She insisted on them to bring two full barrels back...each! She said it was compensation for not coming down to see Roger off before they went off to the Grand Line, and waved them off when they tried to pay her. Shrugging at that,Garp and Rayleigh,being the two strongest on the crew aside from Roger himself,carried the barrels down to the ship just in time for Garp to run back to the weapon smith to pick up his throwing knives and get back in time for curfew.

This was their last day in the East blue for now. No one knew when or if they'd be back. Roger had been pleased at his forethinking of fighting devil fruit users, which could be a frequent occurrence along the Grand Line,and at his willingness to assist Rayleigh. Garp was pleased that his captain saw worth in what he was doing,even if he still lost in the spars they now had on a daily basis. As he sat on the railing of the ship looking out to sea,he woved to himself to be the best he can be,both for his crew and for himself. He took a swig of alcohol before casting a look at the city of Loguetown. He knew there was a marine base here,but he didn't worry. No one in the crew had any bounties yet,so they didn't have to worry about being stopped in the way of conquering the Grand Line. Little did Garp know about what the future would bring...

**Fast forward:35 years later Location: Raftel**

"There is nothing more I can do". Those words were shocking to hear. Roger sighed. "Well,there is nothing for it,I guess. Thank you for your honest words,Crocus" he said with a slight bow to their ship's doctor, who bowed back and left the Captain's quarters. Rayleigh stood in the doorframe. "So what now,Roger? We found the end of the Grand Line,we left a good part of our treasure there, and now you're dying? The fates have a disgusting taste of humour" he said he downed some alcohol. Roger chuckled. "What happens now indeed? I have had my suspicions about my illness for a couple of years now,and I refuse to let the crew know of my condition. To be honest,I have come up with an idea that will keep the members here safe from the World Government, despite the fact that none of you will like it" Roger said as he put a bottle to his lips. Rayleigh frowned at his friend as he thought of what he said. Then it dawned on him and with wide eyes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying,Roger? Are you really disbanding the Roger Pirates?" he asked,voice cracking. Roger smiled gently at his first mate and oldest friend as he walked over to Rayleigh and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "It's for the best Ray. It'll be up to you and the others to tell Garp what is going to happen, as I have no intention of letting this disease be the death of me. Please tell him I'm sorry for not telling him myself, and to look after Rouge for me. I remember he said he'd retire,although it was with a heavy heart, but the kid finally found true love,and I didn't want to stand in the way of that. A part of the treasure in the cargo hold is for him,and the rest is for you guys to split up equally.

I am sorry old friend,but I have a meeting with Newgate in not too long,and I'd rather not be late. I'll tell the crew in two days, I expect you to bring Garp's old weapons with you,in case he wants to train his child" Roger said as he let go of Rayleigh's shoulder and walked out of the room to the deck. "I'll be gone when you come back Roger,I'll go to Garp and tell him the news,officially. Off the record,I'll stay in the South Blue for a couple of years to keep an eye on Rouge as well" rayleigh said,just loud enough for only Roger to hear him. Roger only looked once over his shoulder and nodded.

**Two weeks later: Baterilla**

Rayleigh had just arrived at the island Rouge and Garp were rumored to live in,and were just asking a local about directions,when he heard a low voice behind him: "And what are you doing here,_Pirate_?" Rayleigh smiled and turned around and looked into the familiar grey shocked eyes of Monkey D. Garp. "Garp. It's been a while" he said,to which Garp nodded. "15 years. What are you doing here,Ray? It's a weird thing for the first mate of the Pirate King to visit a quiet island in the South Blue without reason" Garp said. Rayleigh sighed and lifted the bag he was carrying. "Is there anywhere safe to talk freely?" Garp nodded. "My house. Just mind your language around Dragon, he's bad enough from before,without learning your curses" Rayleigh smirked. "Like father,like son,eh? I have no problems with that" he said,and with that the two old friends walked through the village to Garp's home. "I had Rouge move in with us,the house is thankfully big enough for all of us, and we still have a guest room for you if you want to spend the night" Garp said as they got closer to a large three-story villa,complete with a big garden and balconies. As they walked in,Garp called out: "I'm home!"

In a breakneck, a 14-year old boy came running up to his dad and asked: "Did you get a good catch today,dad?" Garp lowered himself to the boy's height and said: "Not today,son,there's only a matter of time though" he remembered Rayleigh stood behind him and said: "Dragon,there's someone I want you to meet" he stood up and pointed a thumb at Rayleigh. "This is your old man's old vice-captain from the ship I used to be on before I settled down here with your mom" he said with a smile. Dragon looked at Rayleighs imposing figure. "Wow,you're huge!" he said. Rayleigh threw his head back and laughed. "Hahahahahaha! Your kid is even worse than you were,kid!" to which Garp growled: "Stop calling me kid! I'm almost 40,damnit! Also,you're only two years older than me,you bastard!" to which a frying pan came flying out of the kitchen and connected with Garp's head,sending Garp to the ground. A second later,an angry woman came out of the kitchen. "What have I told you about that kind of language around Dragon,Garp-kun? I don't wanna hear it!" she yelled with a tick mark on her forehead. Garp sat up with a sheepish smile and rubbed his head where the rying pan had connected. "OOWW! I'm sorry my dear,I just couldn't help it when this old geezer keeps calling me kid" he said as he gestured to Rayleigh,who still stood there. The woman got wide eyes. "Ray-san? What are you doing here?" Ray glanced at Dragon. Garp nodded as he said: "Dragon,go down in the village and get some food to have for dinner,can you do that?" he asked as he handed a few Beri notes to his son. Dragon nodded,glanced briefly at Rayleigh, who smiled pleasantly at him, and left the house. Garp exhaled as he stood up. "Come,let's go into the living room, and you can tell us what brought you to the South Blue" he said as he led the way into a large room with big windows and big comfy sofas. After Garp and his wife had sat down in one sofa,Rayleigh sat down opposite them,the bag placed on the ground next to him. "So,what's troubling you Rayleigh? You've never looked older than you do now" Garp said. Rayleigh sighed and looked Garp in the eyes. "Roger is dying" he said.

Garps eyes were wide at the news as his wife clasped her hands in front of her mouth. "What?How?When?" was the only things Garp could say. "We got a new doctor aboard some 3 years ago. He had gone through a full check of the entire crew a couple of weeks ago, and had saved Roger for last. Then he discovered that Roger has an incurable disease that is slowly killing him. After that, he told me that he had no plans of succumbing to the disease, and has as of two weeks ago,disbanded the Roger Pirates" Rayleigh said. Then he started opening his bag, and the items he picked up made Garp drop his jaw; it was his old weapons! His old brass knuckles and throwing knives brought forth so many memories it took Garp a minute to comprehend and react to what was happening. Then rayleigh took out a heavy-looking medium-sized chest and gave it to Garp,who caught it with no problems. Garp set it on his lap and opened it. When he did,his eyes widened again. He looked at Rayleigh,who nodded. "I counted it myself. Roger still held you in high regards Garp, and is thankful that you are at least one familiar face to keep Rogue company. He still felt you were deserving of the last portion of the loot we had on the Oro Jackson, and I'm not one to let Roger's final wish come true" Rayleigh said. Garp looked at the stacks of Beri notes in the chest. "There must be at least 2 milion beri in here" he said quietly. Rayleigh nodded. "Everyone on the crew got the same amount,which is enough for most of us to live comfortably anonymously for a good few years. He was going to meet with Whitebeard after the doc checked him over,so I told him that I'd be coming here after he left,and that I was not coming back to the Oro Jackson,which I guess the Marines must've burned away by now. My plan was to stick around for a couple of years before heading out, just to see how things turn out. Cause you know as well as I that the World government would hunt down anyone associated with Roger,so Rouge and her child are in the greatest danger here" Rayleigh said,causing Garp to nod. "Aye,I can see that. It's also well known that the Crew spent a good couple of years in the South Blue,so this might be the first place the marines comes to look for Roger's spawn" Garp said as he looked to his wife. "We need to move somewhere the Marines won't go near. As much as I loathe to say it,it seems it's time to go home" he said. Rayleigh quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Going back to your roots,Garp?" Garp nodded. "Where are we going,dad?" came Dragon's voice from the entrance of the room. "How much did you hear,son?" Garp asked. "nothing more than that the marines will be coming. So where are we going?" Dragon asked as he walked up to his dad,who hugged him and his wife before he nodded to Rayleigh and said" We need to tell Rouge and bring her with us back to the East Blue. That'll be the shock of the shock of the town when we arrive back in Fuusha Village"

**Cliffhanger! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter,I had to do a lot of research to do to get this chapter done properly,and I know I probably screwed up a couple of places,but that's what you readers are here for,I hope? constructive criticism is always appreciated,Flamers can go fuck a duck,etc...anyway,I truly hope to hear from each of you,next chapter will have another timeskip,this time Luffy is introduced, So I'm going to put up a poll on my profile regarding what kind of devilfruit he's going to get. Anyways,that's all for now,Cya later**

**Nathan**


	3. Shanks' Arrival Training begins!

**Hey my faithful readers! It's been a long time since I last updated this story,but I have no intentions of abandoning it! It just took a lot of time to find inspiration to write again. Now,last chapter was a lot of timeskips,and I say this now,it will be the same here. Hopefully,next chapter**

**can start off Luffy's adventure,I just needed to put a bit of backstory to Luffy's motivation to sail out,and I truly hope y'all will enjoy this story,**

**so without further ado,**

**Let's start the show!**

Fifteen years. That's how long time has passed since Garp moved his family and the widow of his former captain, Portgas D. Rouge, to Fuusha Village and a lot has happened since.

First was the unexpected illness that befell Garp's wife,claiming her life after

six weeks. The incident affected both Garp and Dragon more than either man

would care to admit.

The next incident,was Rouge going into labour 12 months after landing at Fuusha.

By then she had upheld the pregnancy for an astounding 20 months,to throw the marines off the idea that Gol D. Roger had a child. She gave him the name

Gol D. Ace before her body gave out and she died,holding Ace in her arms.

The next incident a few years after was Dragon detecting how much corruption and violence the marines and the world government got up to,causing him to go up against the World Government as a revolutionary, and had gathered quite a following,last Garp heard.

Three years after Rouge's death,Garp got another shock: he was a grandfather!

Dragon had found himself an ex-World Noble lady who was tired of how her people was crushed for no other reason than entertainment.

Dragon and Marie,as her name was, got married in complete secrecy,and not long after,Monkey D. Luffy was born. Dragon met up with his father to ask him to care for him,as the Revolutionary Army was no place to raise a child. Garp agreed,seeing as he could help train both Luffy and Ace when they were old enough,as well as keeping them out from the eyes of marines and World Government alike.

And so the years flew by, and Garp couldn't be prouder of his grandchildren,as he had come to see Ace as his grandson too. When they both were old enough,Garp started training them,and managing to disguise it as playing with them. He decided to keep doing it this way until they asked him to train them seriously.

When Ace was 10,Garp decided to tell Ace the truth about his father. When Ace asked Garp if he deserved to live,Garp answered: "Everyone deserves a chance at life,Ace, the sins of the parent should not reflect upon a child,no matter the cruelty of the parent",making Ace go quiet for a good while.

When he then decided to speak,he said: "A part of me hates my father for the bad things he did,but another admires him for the adventures that he had. It's weird,but I know what I want to do with my life,gramps" Ace said with a smile on his face.

Garp quirked an eyebrow at him and said: "Oh?And what would that be?" This time Ace turned to him and said: "I want to sail the Grand Line! I want to have adventures and meet friends and new places!" with a wide grin on his face. Garp grinned.

"Sounds like a fine dream,kid,but how will a weakling like you survive on the Grand Line? It will eat you up and spit you out before you have a chance to ask for help!" he said,making Ace pale a little before taking up a determined face and yelled in Garps face: "Train me then!S that I may be strong enough to survive what you and my father did! Train me to become a pirate!"

"OOH!ME TOO!" Yelled Luffy as he came running towards them. "Luffy,where have you been?" Garp asked right before he saw why Luffy was running; A troop of mountain gorillas came following,each was easily as big as Garp himself if not bigger. Garp sighed. "You again" he said as he closed his eyes briefly before he opened them and started glaring at the leader of the troop,who suddenly passed out. The rest of the troop became confused,looking from their downed leader to Garp and back, before deciding to retreat for now. Garp turned towards the two boys,who were staring at him with stars in their eyes.

"WOW!Gramps,that was awesome!You've got to teach us how to do that!" Luffy yelled. "And why should I teach you,Luffy? I know that Ace wants to explore the Grand Line,which is no easy feat,but why should I teach you? Do you know what you want to do with your life? You're only 7 after all. You can't possibly know what you want to do for the rest of your life" Garp said in a semi-harsh voice,still a little aggravated that his grandson was nearly killed by gorillas.

However,after seeing Luffy on the verge of tearing up,Garp went down on one knee and placed a hand under Luffy's chin, and looking his grandson in the eyes, he said: "I'll make you a deal Luffy. Think on it for another 3 years,okay? If you have not changed your mind by then, I will train you. Until then,you can watch as I train Ace,okay?" Luffy nodded, eagerly wondering what his gramps could teach Ace,who he looked up at as an older brother.

Turning back to Ace,Garp said: " Your training starts tomorrow morning, for now relax,because I will run you through hell!" making Ace gulp,the 10-year old wondering what he has signed up for.

2 Years later:

It was a quiet morning in Fuusha village as Garp walked into the village to buy breakfast for himself and the kids,having finished Ace's training for the day when he saw a familiar-looking ship making his lips twitch as he muttered: "Damn brat" and walked down to the port where the people were gathering,scared of the pirate flag on the ship. Garp gently pressed himself to the front of the crowd and stared at the ship as it anchored down. When the bridge went down,Garp's eye twitched as it took its time being lowered. The mayor came up to Garp and asked: "Do you know these pirates,Garp?" it was a sharp question,but Garp knew better,he knew the mayor was only worried for the people. He looked at the man,who was quite a bit shorter than himself. Woop Slap had been one of the few who had remembered Garp from his younger days,and welcomed him back,although he never believed him when Garp simply said he had been "exploring" for all the years he had been gone. Garp nodded. "I used to sail with their captain,and they're not bad people, a bit heavy on the alcohol maybe,but not bad people" Garp said. Woop Slap nodded once before he said: "I'll take your word for it,Garp, and I'll hold you responsible if anything happens" as he walked away.

Garp sighed as he turned back to the ships bridge,who was still being lowered and growled to himself: "Oh for the love of..." before he walked up to the ship,grabbed ahold of the bridge and PULLED the entire bridge down with him. The bridge landed with a massive THUD!, blowing up a massive dustcloud Before a voice was heard: "OY!Who the hell did that?!"Garp inhaled and blew the dust away,revealing the person who spoke. "Now,who did that?" the man said as he came out. The man was an average height and wore a dark captain's coat over his shoulders,sandals on his feet and a strawhat on his head. He also had three slashmarks over his left eye and tomato red hair. This was former cabinboy of the Roger Pirates, now one of the top four pirates of the world, Red-hair Shanks.

"Who the hell do you think it was ,you damn tomato?" Garp yelled at him,making Shanks' eyes widen. "G-Garp? What-What the hell are you doing here?" Shanks asked with a slight stutter. Garps eye twitched. "This is my home Shanks,I live here, a better question would be what the hell is a Yonko doing in the weakest of the blues?" making people stop with wide eyes. Garp noticed this, sighed and said to Shanks: "You and your top three can come ashore, we can catch up at my place"

before walking away, all thoughts on breakfast forgotten.

As Garp walked further away from the village,he felt four signatures catch up to him and he muttered: "About time" before he turned to face them. With Shanks was three men: one tall, pale man with glasses and smoking a cigarette,one fat man with a green and white striped shirt,sunglasses and chewing on a meat on the bone, and lastly, one average-sized tan man, with light brown curly hair tied up in a bandana with the word YASSOP spelled out. These were Shanks' top lieutenants:Ben Beckmann,Yassop and Lucky Roo. "About time you got here,shrimp" Garp said with a smirk. "Oy! I'm a grown man damnit,I'm not the same kid I once was!" Shanks yelled at the older man,making his men wonder just who Shanks was arguing with. Shanks then turned serious and looked to his men: "Gentlemen,may I introduce you to one of the people I once sailed with years ago,my favorite teacher and one the least known men of the sea: Monkey D. Garp"he said as he had big smile on at the end of his speech,causing his men to go wide-eyed. Ben was the first to recover and shook Garps hand eagerly. "It's an honor to make your aquaintance,Garp-san, I have read as much as I can on the history of the Roger Pirates,not included what Captain told me,and I am honestly astounded on how you managed to stay out of the spotlight,especially since you were one of Roger's oldest crewmates,would you care to explain on how you managed it?"

Garp barked out a laugh. "Hah! I'll explain a lot of things once we have reached my home,hopefully it's still standing" Garp said as the group continued to walk for another 10 minutes before they arrived at Garp's home: A 2-story beach house,complete with a patio pointing out to the water. "Ah,here we are,please make yorselves at home on the patio,while I go and check on something" Garp said before disappearing up the stairs. Yassop turned to his captain and said: "he's not really what I expected from the third-in-command on the Oro Jackson,captain" making Shanks chuckle before saying "No,I wouldn't expect so. Garp left the crew 5 years after the Oro Jackson was built,said he wanted to settle down. Last I heard from Rayleigh,he had settled down somewhere in the South Blue had a wife and a kid. I never expected to find him here,that is why I was so shocked earlier". Just then Garp came back down the stairs with two kids following his trail, making the four men to look on curiosly.

The boys both looked alike;with raven-black hair,a pair of sandals and a pair of denim shorts each,the boys could pass as twins if not for the fact that one of them was clearly taller and had a face covered in freckles.

"Umm, Garp-san? What's with the kids?" asked Shanks. Garp grinned. "This-"he gestured to Luffy- "is my grandson,Monkey D. Luffy, and this-" he gestured to Ace- "is the son of your former captain" he finished as Shanks' eyes widened.

He looked to Garp. "Are you telling me Gol D. Roger had a son? And didn't tell his crew?" he said, making Ace's eyes widen before they narrowed as he looked down,unnoticed by Shanks but not by Luffy or Garp. "Roger had a reason for not telling the crew,Shanks. He knew the marines would be after anyone who had any connection to him, especially on the off-chance that he had a child" Garp chided. "Besides,the more people who'd known,the greater chance the marines would've found out. Now,before you say another word,I think you should apologize to Ace. He has known the truth for a good while now,and has undergone an identity crisis because of his connection to Roger. So before he blows his lid and you put another foot in your mouth,I suggest you apologize" he finished as he glared at Shanks with steely eyes. Shanks' eyes widened again as he looked at Ace,who was still glaring at the floor. He swallowed lightly before kneeling in front of Ace. "I'm sorry for my poor choice of wording,Ace-san. All I meant was that if the rest of the crew knew about it,they would've probably been wanting to help raise you themselves as if you were their own. Myself included. As a former Roger pirate,I'd like to get to know my former captain's son better,if you wouldn't mind?" Shanks said,making Ace's eyes widen as he looked at Shanks,looking for any sign of deceit.

Finding none,Ace smiled slightly and nodded,causing Shanks to grin before turning to Luffy and said: "the same goes to you,Luffy-san. I'd also like to know you better. I knew your grandpa years back,we sailed on the same ship. I have several stories I could tell you about him" Shanks said,causing Luffy to grin widely and nod. Shanks smiled gently at him before looking to Garp and his men. "I know we won't be able to be here often,but we'll pop by from time to time and help train the boys,if you'd like?" he asked Garp,who scratched his beard while thinking on the offer. "As will we captain" Ben said as he gestured to Lucky and Yassop,wo both nodded. "If I guess correctly,Luffy-san is the son of the revolutionary Dragon,meaning that both boys will be targets for some reason or another either soon or further down the line. This just means that we have to help them with the tools to survive in this world,corrupted as it is" Ben finished before looking to his captain.

"And we can afford to stay for a couple years before we have to be back in the New World, which means we can start training the boys when we get the clear for you Garp-san" he added. Garp closed his eyes as he thought. He was going to train both boys anyway,and Beckmann's reason was opened his eyes and locked eyes with Ben. "what can you teach them? I assume each of you have a specialty of some kind?" he asked. Ben nodded. "Indeed. I am quite learned,if I dare say so myself. I am quite adept at navigation and history among others" he said as he gestured to Lucky Roo to continue. "I have a great amount of knowledge on different things,with a specialty on devil fruits and I am a quite good cook,so I could teach the boys what to eat and what to avoid,depending on what kind of island they end up on"Lucky finished before gesturing to Yassop. "I have a good amount of knowledge on different weapons,both long range or melle,though my specialty is long range,as I am the sniper on our ship" he said as he looked the boys. Garp looked the men before saying: "so essentially,we have all the means to teach them to survive in Paradise. It's not a bad thing, however,the choice is up to you,Ace,Luffy. Would you like us to teach you?" the old man finished as he looked to the two boys. Ace and Luffy looked to each other before turning to the men,grinning and said a loud "YES PLEASE!" in chorus. Garp chuckled as he looked to the four others. "You heard them gentlemen! Tomorrow,we start their training!"


	4. Sabo's arrival,goals to achieve!

**Chapter 4: Training,Meeting a new friend!**

Ace and Luffy woke up before dawn as normal and went downstairs,Ace to start running his laps and Luffy to grab some breakfast before joining Ace outside. As Ace had finished his tenth lap and Luffy had finished his breakfast,they noticed that neither Garp or Shanks and his men were there,the two boys decided to train in the outskirts of the jungle, by jumping from tree to tree and (sometimes) improvise their landings. They kept doing this until they heard an unfamiliar voice shout: "Help me!" the boys followed the voice until they got to a pit where they saw a boy close to Ace's age were being stuck under a tree trunk and a tiger getting close. Ace,thinking quickly said: "Luffy,you help the kid,and I'll try to lure away the tiger and hopefully alert the old man while I'm at it,okay?" Luffy stared wide-eyed at Ace for a moment before he said: "You better be careful,Ace, or you'll never hear the end of it from Gramps".

With that Luffy ran around the clearing to get a better view of the boy,while Ace grabbed a decent-sized rock and threw it at the tiger. The rock hit it at the back of its head with enough force to make the tiger turn around and see Ace,who was prepared to run like hell, and started pouncing off the side of the pit to follow its new prey. In the meantime,Luffy had gotten down to the unknown boy who was stuck. "Hey,are you hurt?" he asked, to which the boy answered: "I'm stuck in the branches under here, my arm is bleeding and I think my ankle is broken,but other than that I'm fine. Why did he do that? He'll get himself killed for sure" the boy looked up at Luffy who had started to laugh. "Shishishishi! Ace is too fast for him,and by the time the tiger catches up to him Ace'll have gotten reinforcements. Now, let's see if we can't at least break off some branches to make it easier for you to get out." Luffy said as he got to work,careful as to not hurt the unknown boy. "I'm Luffy by the way. Monkey D. Luffy" he added as an afterthought as he smiled at the slightly older boy, who smiled back and said: "Sabo. My name is Sabo"

Luffy had been making good progress on removing the branches that prevented Sabo from escaping the tree when they heard Ace's voice: "Luffy!How's it going?" Luffy put both hands in front of his mouth and shouted: "I need help getting the tree trunk off!" and then turned to Sabo. "You'll be out of there soon. Gramps will be here in a second" he said,to which Sabo frowned. "How's an old man able to help? He'll probably break his back trying to lift an axe" he said,causing Luffy to frown,but before he could respond,he heard a voice from behind him. "Oh? Someone's being mouthy,eh?" to which Luffy grinned. "he's been stuck under there for a while,gramps!I'm sure that's the only reason" he said and moved so Sabo could take a look at the newcomer and paled; the old man was huge! Then the old man did something that made Sabo almost faint: he punched the trunk with enough force to turn the entire thing into millions of toothpicks! He soon got up a bit unsteady and looked to Luffy and the man who apparently was Luffy's grandpa, and bowed slightly. "Thank you both for helping me,I hope the other one is okay" the blonde kid said nervously. "The other one? You mean Ace?" the old man asked to clarify. Sabo nodded. "Considering he hit a fully grown tiger in the back of the head with a rock,I don't blame the animal to angry,I just hope he didn't end up as the tiger's lunch". "Don't worry about it,my grandson is pretty strong,as is little Luffy here. Why don't you join us for lunch?" the old man said with a smile as Luffy lit up like a candle. "Oh! Why can't he stay with us,gramps?" the hyperactive raven hair said with a grin. Garp scratched his head. "Well,I assume his family will want him back,Luffy. You can understand that,right?" he said, seeing his grandson frown before nodding. "That makes sense,I guess"the young boy said before turning to Sabo. "Hey,where do you live? I've never seen you around the village before" he asked,causing Sabo's eyes to widen as he thought about how to lie his way out of the situation. "I-eh,I come from Grey Terminal" Sabo said,hoping they wouldn't notice his half-lie. Garp narrowed his eyes at the mention of Grey Terminal as he looked over Sabo's clothes. Dark blue jacket,white shirt and a dark blue top hat and a pair of black shoes. _'Hmm,clearly not from Grey Terminal,he might be from the capital,but if he's from there,then...'_ Garp's eyes widened at the thought of who Sabo's relations were and doing some quick thinking he said : "Luffy,why don't you go find Ace and find Shanks and his men? They should be at Makino's bar" he said, successfully distracting his grandson, who immediately started running away screaming "AAAACCCCEEEEE!" at the top of his lungs,leaving Garp alone with Sabo. Garp turned to the blonde.

"I have a feeling I know who you really are" he said,causing Sabo's eyes to widen in fear,then confusion as the old man continued speaking: "Just relax,I have no intentions to send anything to those bastards in the capital, and no low-brow criminal would dare tried to approach this place,not while me and my grandsons are here" he grinned as he saw the look of confusion on the young boy's face. "I forgot to introduce myself,didn't I?I'm sure you've heard or me,name's Monkey D. Garp" he said,causing Sabo's eyes to widen in realization of who exactly he was talking to. _'This is the third mate of the Roger Pirates,THE Monkey D. Garp? Maybe he can help me after all'_ Sabo thought. "You-You are THE Monkey D. Garp?third mate of the Roger Pirates?" he asked for clarification. Garp nodded as he motioned for Sabo to follow him. After a few minutes,they had reached the end of the jungle and Sabo laid eyes on a nice,two-story house, with a big garden and a beautiful view of the ocean. Garp looked down on the stunned young boy. "You are more than welcome to stay here. I am sure Ace and Luffy will welcome having someone else to play with...when they're not training,that is" Garp said with a chuckle. Sabo tilted his head in confusion. "Training? Training for what?" he asked. Garp barked out a short laugh. "Hah! You'll have to ask them what they're training for,it's not my right to tell,I'll say this though,they both want to go out to sea one day,for one reason or another" their conversation was ended when Luffy and Ace came up to them with four men Sabo did not recognize. "Hey gramps,we found them,they were with Makino getting drunk when we found them!" Luffy called with a big grin as he ran ahead of the group. Garp sighed as he looked at Shanks. "Really Shanks? First you promised me to help train the kids,and then you go and get drunk on me? Some help you are" Garp grumbled as he walked into the house to make breakfast,momentarily forgetting about Sabo,who was frozen in Shock at the sight of 'Akagami no Shanks' and three of his top men.

Shanks in turn tilted his head at the sight of the blonde. "Hey Garp,who's the new kid?" he asked before Garp managed to open the door. Garp turned,looked at Sabo and then looked to Shanks. "His name is Sabo, Luffy and Ace found him about to become tiger lunch. He's gonna stick with us for a while,so we might as well train him too." Garp said, gaining an "EEEHH?" from Sabo, a confused look from Ace, a wide grin from Luffy and four head scratches from Shanks and his men. Shanks then shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. Nice to meet you Sabo, I am Shanks, and with me is my top men, Ben Beckman, Lucky Roo and Yassopp" Shanks said with a small smile. Sabo hesitated to reply,but when he did, it was with a small smile and an outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you too Shanks" he said,gaining a larger grin from Luffy in the background as he and Ace followed Garp into the house. Shanks shook Sabo's hand, then said: "Well,let's go in. Garp makes a pretty mean meal when he feels like it" Sabo smiled,nodded and walked in with the four men.

After a good meal,consisting of the tiger that had tried to eat Sabo,some fish, and fruits and vegetables, Garp turned to Sabo and said "I'm sure you're wondering why we need to train Ace and Luffy,right?" gaining a nod from Sabo. "It's because of who their fathers are. You see,Luffy is my biological his father Dragon,my son. As for Ace, well,his father is our-"he pointed at himself and Shanks- "-former captain." Sabo was wide-eyed at mention of Luffy's father being the most wanted man in the world. When Ace's father was mentioned, Sabo could've sworn he was about to pass out. Then he started thinking. _'If Ace and Luffy will be hunted for who their parents are,they'll need all the help they can get. With training from Both Garp-san and Shanks-san and his men, they will be able to survive a lot,but they'll still need help. Yes,I'll help them get wherever they want to get. After all,they saved me from that tiger' _

Aloud he said: "Garp-san. I am in debt to Ace and Luffy. Without them,and you, I'd most likely be dead. As such,I have a request." The old man widened his eyes as he heard the words that would forever change their lives as Sabo looked determined into his eyes and said: "Please train me along with them! I wish to not only survive myself,but I want to help them reach their goals. I'm a fast learner, and, if I may be so bold, I am quite smart for my age. I'll do whatever it takes, but please,TRAIN ME!"

The silence dominated the room as Garp looked at Shanks,Benn,Yassop and Lucky before looking down at Sabo,who was still looking down. Garp grinned.

"It's not even noon yet...Luffy,you'll spend the day With Lucky, Ace,you'll spend it with Benn, Yassop,I think we'll wait a bit before learning these kids any kind of marksmanship, As for Sabo, you'll spend the day with me and Shanks" causing Shanks to look at Garp curiously while Sabo's head snapped up in shock so fast,it's a miracle he didn't get whiplash. "Your training...**STARTS** **NOW**!"


	5. Chapter 5

**HOLY SHIT! It's been waaaaay too long since I updated this,and for that I'm sorry,but life comes in the way for a long list of reasons,I'm not even gonna start naming here. I hope this lives up to the standard I've made for this story. Don't forget to Read and Review!**

Chapter 5:Training,Timeskip and Travelling

It has been a year since Sabo came to live Garp and stated his training under Garp and the Red-hair Pirates. The three boys quickly became close, with both Ace and Sabo acting as older brothers for the younger hyperactive boy that was Luffy. It was already midnight when Luffy and Sabo got woken up by Ace, who quickly shushed them and gestured for them to follow him. They followed him outside, and halfway between their home and the forest he turned to them and fished something out of his belt. Sabo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes when he saw what Ace held up. "Did you know,when people share Sake,they became brothers?" Ace asked. Sabo's eyes widened at the implication. "Really?" asked Luffy,excited to gain both Ace and Sabo as brothers. Sure,he and Ace was already as close as brothers,but to him,this made it official. Ace nodded. "Yep,so I nicked this out of Jii-san's cabinet. Let's make this official guys. I know at least me and Luffy are planning to be captains of our own ships and crews,but you are unknown so far. So,to ensure that we'll always keep in touch,let's become brothers!" Ace said,his own excitement mirroring Luffys,and soon after,Sabo joined in.

The next day: "Owww!my head!" exclaimed Ace as he woke up. "Sake always does that to first-timers, but maybe that should help remind you to stay out of my booze" an elderly voice said,and when Ace opened his eyes,he saw that it was Garp,the old man sitting in front of him sipping on a cup of coffee. Ace gingerly sat up,before noticing that both Sabo's and Luffy's beds were empty. Garp saw his look and said: "Luffy and Sabo are already outside training, Luffy's training with Benn today,Sabo's with Shanks and once you've eaten,you're with Lucky. I might come around to help you guys during the day,but for the first part,you're by yourself, I have to meet a friend of mine first. So,you're in charge of your brothers for the beginning of the day,understood?" Garp asked sternly. Ace blinked once before nodding. Garp smiled and gestured to the bedside table. "Eat. And drink that may taste revolting to begin with,but it should help you sober up" he said before getting up and leaving the room. Ace blinked again,before smiling and helping himself to the food that had been brought up to him.

Meanwhile,with Luffy:

Luffy was currently walking with the Vice-captain of the Red-hair Pirates, to find a place where he could best teach the boy the basics of navigation. Eventually,they found a nice quiet spot between the foot of the mountain and with a nce view of the sea. Then Benn sat down and gestured for Luffy to sit down next to him, which the young boy eagerly did. "Now Luffy,you want to become a pirate,right?" Benn asked rhetorically,as he already knew this,but Luffy eagerly nodded anyway. "Yup! I can't wait to set sail and find my Nakama!" the boy said before grinning widely. Benn smirked gently as he lit up a cigarette. "Well then,I can't let you set sail unprepared,then can I? Your gramps would kill me if I let that happen,so I am here to teach you how to avoid being stuck at sea. There are many ways of finding your direction even when stuck out on the open sea..."

Meanwhile with Sabo:

Sabo was sitting on the terrace of Garps house with Shanks. The red-haired man looked at Sabo and said: "I guess you're wondering what I'm going to teach you,huh?" causing a slightly shaky nod from the yellow-haired boy. Shanks sat back on one of the two sofa's standing on the terrace. "I am going to teach you something that everyone could know,but only a few ever masters. Tell me,have you ever heard of Haki?" causing the blonde to shake his head and the red-haired pirate started to explain.

With Ace:

After Ace had finished eating, hea tok the tray with the now-empty plate of food and the cup who he now knew had been filled with coffee down to the kitchen. When he got there,he saw Lucky already rummaging the cupboards. "Do you need anything?" Ace said as he started washing the dishes. The chubby man turned around to see Ace and grinned. "Ah,Ace! Yes,I was planning the first thing to teach you,and if you are like me,you learn better from doing rather than reading,am I right?" he asked,getting an affirmative nod from the raven-haired teen. Then Lucky turned back to the cupboards. "I was just wondering where your gramps had hidden his spices, they are essential when it comes to cooking, no matter what it is"he said. Ace smiled before he went to the counter next to the oven and opened a drawer, revealing several rows of spices. "Here you are" Ace said before going back to the smiled as he picked up a box before frowning. "What's this? 'Garp Special'?" Lucky said as he opened up the lid,stuck his pinky in and tasted a sample before turning to Ace. "Do you know what's in this?"he asked the shook his head. "Only Gramps knows,all I know is that all the spices he makes are with things native to the island" Lucky frowned a little before speaking. "Well,at least we have spices. Now we need something to use it on" he said. "We do have a stock of bear,tiger and crocodile meat if you want to try that out" Ace said as he pointed to a door. Lucky opened the door and saw it was a hidden room. From the ceiling hung rows upon rows of all kinds of meat he had never tasted. True enough,there was tiger,bear and crocodile along with rows of fish that Lucky guessed was native to the waters around Dawn Island.

He rubbed his hands together and asked Ace to come help him.

Meanwhile with Garp:

Garp was walking around the capital of Dawn Island,his destination unknown until he felt a familiar Aura. " a shock. Should've known he would seek out the local bars" he said to himself as he walked into a bar. He walked up to the bar counter and ordered a Whisky before asking the bartender: "Excuse me,you haven't seen a man with glasses,a bit taller than me and with a beard in three stripes?". The bartender thought for a second. "Ah,yes,Rayleigh-san! He ordered a room upstairs and said he was waiting for a friend. I take it you are Garp-san?" he answered in a hushed tone. Garp nodded. "Room 431 is the one you are searching for" the bartender said in a normal tone. Garp thanked the man and walked upstairs. Once there,he knocked twice before entering. Once inside he found the man himself sitting in front of a table with a curious gleam in his eyes. "Did you get them?" Garp asked. Rayleigh nodded. "I did,but was curious when you asked if I could get you three of them. I hope you have an explanation you can give me to make this worth it" Garp nodded. "I do,but not here,you never know when you're being overheard by the wrong people. Let me invite you to my home, the boys have a few friends over that you'll be happy to meet,and I'm sure that dinner will be ready by the time we get back" he said,causing Rayleigh to frown before looking into the expecting eyes of Garp. "Thank you for the invitation,I'm happy to accept. Let me just get my stuff and I have to make up my tab in the bar and we can take my boat over,if that is okay?" Garp nodded. "It is,better than walking through the damned forest anyway" he said,causing Rayleigh to raise an eyebrow but didn't ask any questions. The two men walked downstairs,where Rayleigh was somehow greeted by all the patrons and the bartender was shaking his hands before the two left the bar.

It wasn't until they had set sail from the port that Rayleigh spoke up. "So,what's with all the secrecy? I already know about Roger's son and your grandson, so why did you ask me to smuggle three devil fruits out to the East Blue?" Garp sighed. "About a year or so ago, we rescued a kid from the Tiger Lord. Kid's name is Sabo,or rather, Outlook Sabo,the son of the nobles. He hates his family,so he ran away from home,but got trapped under a fallen tree before Luffy and Ace found him. He's been living with us ever since. Whatever you say,don't mention his last name. He has thrown away his family ties and wishes to someday set sail as a free man,so me and a few others has been training him,Ace and Luffy so they will be prepared for the Grand Line. I was also planning on making Luffy's journey a bit of a challenge, considering the relatively low-level pirates that is sailing around this sea. With the exception of one,who I want to set straight myself" Garp finished. Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who has earned the ire of Garp the Fist?anyone I know?" he asked jokingly until he saw the serious look in Garp's eyes. "Garp?" said man just growled out one word. "Buggy." This gained Rayleigh's attention. "Buggy? That red-nosed brat is here in the East Blue?" Garp nodded. "As you know,my Observation has been perfected, to the point where I can find any soul strong enough. A couple of weeks ago,I felt the brat's aura enter the East Blue. Been keeping track of him ever since,in case he comes near this island. Doubtful,seeing as this island has nobles on it,but you never know. Knowing him,he never kept up with his Haki training,so most likely he'll piss his pants knowing that both of us are here." Garp said with a grin. Rayleigh smiled. "Well,in that case,I hope you've kept up with your fighting skills. Can't have the young beat the old,now can we?" he asked,causing both of them to laugh.

A little while after,they had reached the private pier Garp had built on his property.

After fastening the boat they headed towards the house,where Shanks and his men were still training the boys. "Hey boys. How is training going?" Garp said,causing Shanks to look up and immediately grinned. "RAYLEIGH!" he shouted as he ran of to greet the man. "Hahaha,so this is who you meant by friends I'd be happy to meet. Good to see you again red-hair, how's life as a Yonko?" Shanks grinned. "Pretty good. We're only staying here for another year before we have to go back to the New World. Can't have a rookie ruin my territory,after all" the red-haired captain said with a grin. Rayleigh laughed and slapped Shanks on the back. "HAHAHA! You're doing just fine,boy. But where's your crew? I'd imagine they'd be landsick by now" he asked as they walked up to the house. "They're sailing around the blues, I made Rockstar temporary captain until it's time for us to go" Shanks replied as they walked up to the terrace where Sabo was still sitting,practising. "Sabo, I have someone I want you to meet" Garp said as they sat down on the couches. Garp then gestured to Rayleigh. "This is-" " -_'The Dark king' _Silvers Rayleigh,first mate of the Roger pirates. It's a pleasure to meet you Sir." Sabo stated as politely as he could,despite his nervousness. Garp grinned as he looked to Rayleigh. "See?I told you the kid was smart. Where's your brothers?" he said. "Luffy's with Benn somewhere between the mountain and ocean, while Ace is in the kitchen with Lucky" Sabo said after closing his eyes for a moment. Garp raised an eyebrow at Shanks. "You're teaching him haki? I thought we would teach them all at the same time next month?" he asked,getting an embarrassed look from Shanks. "I know,but it's easier teaching one-on-one than at the same time,especially with the two hot-heads you call grandsons" the red-head said as he stuck his tongue out at Garp, who sat there with a very un-impressed look on his face. "for that-" Garp said as he got up of the couch - "- You get to teach the others next month, _alone _!" he finished as he walked into the kitchen. "Sabo,get Luffy,I'll get Ace!" he yelled,causing the boy to jump up and ran to where he had felt Luffy's presence. Rayleigh sat back and asked the red-head: "How long have you trained him in haki?" Shanks sat back as well and looked up. "I've trained him in secret for a month, considering I felt he'd need the advantage to accomplish his goal" he said as he fished a bottle of sake from his belt and took a swig. "Oh? And what goal is that?" came Garp's voice, followed by the man himself and Ace. He then gestured to Ace. "Rayleigh,I'd like to introduce you to a very special person. This is Portgas D. Ace, son of Portgas D. Rouge and Gol D. Roger. Ace,this-" here Garp gestured to Rayleigh. "-is Silvers Rayleigh, known as the _"Dark king" _and vice-captain of the Roger Pirates" he finished. Ace stood there with wide eyes at the man in front of him. Rayleigh stood up and walked over to Ace. "It is a pleasure to meet you Ace" he said as he stretched out a hand. Ace cleared his throat nervously befora shaking Rayleigh's hand. "N-Nice to meet you too,Sir" at Ace's mannerisms, Rayleigh laughed. "HAHAHA! What's this? A D with manners? Where have you gotten those from,son? Can't be "pig-mouth" Garp here,that's for sure" he finished as he pointed his thumb at Garp,who turned red in embarrasment and shame before exclaiming: "Well,what's so wrong about that? Good manners doesn't hurt,pirate or not!" he then turned to Shanks.

"Where's Sabo and Luffy?" he asked the red-head, who pointed to a point along the beach. "Here they come now" he said and everyone turned to where he pointed. Sure enough, they saw Benn and Sabo and a small boy who were bouncing all over the place. "Luffy! Get over here!" Ace called, and no sooner had he said that, the little boy seemed to be instantly in front of them. Ace just laughed and patted Luffy's head before Garp grabbed the younger boy's attention. "Luffy, I want you to meet a good friend of mine. This is Rayleigh, my old vice-captain" he said as he clasped one hand on Luffy's shoulder and gestured the other to Rayleigh. "WOW! You're even bigger than Jii-san!" the youngest raven-haired boy exclaimed, causing all the adults,except Rayleigh to facepalm, and Ace to laugh. "HAHAHA! I can definitely see that you're Garp's grandson,you have the mannerisms of your father!" Rayleigh said as he crouched down to Luffy's level. "Your grandfather was no better than you are when he was older than Ace, so don't worry about it" he said with a smile and a wink before standing up and ruffling Luffy's hair. Garp was suddenly reminded of something. "By the way Shanks? Where's Yassopp? Is he on the ship with your crew?" he asked the youngest adult. Shanks smiled as he looked to Luffy. "No. Yassopp wanted to see his family over on Gecko Island,so I let him have a boat to sail over with a couple of guys from the crew. He has a son about Luffy's age,I believe,so I wouldn't put it past him to bring them here. He should be back in time for dinner. By the way,Ace" he looked to the young teen. "Weren't you supposed to be with Lucky?" he asked as Ace paled and ran back into the kitchen. Luffy tilted his head. "What's wrong with Ace? He never runs to the kitchen unless he's late for dinner". "Well, dinner might be best to get over with first, cause after we have a surprise for you boys" Garp said, gaining looks of confusion from both Luffy and Shanks until the latter's eyes widened in shock as he understood what the two seniors in front of him had in mind. Just then, he felt Yassopp's signature close in, and noticed something wrong. He ran out to the beach where he could see the small dinghy come closer.

Not even 10 minutes later, the dinghy once again dissappeared, leaving without two of its former occupants; one was Yassopp, the other was a young boy around Luffy's age. Both looked like all hope had left them. Shanks kneeled down to where Yassopp was sitting looking out to the ocean.

"What happened?" he asked, gaining a slight gasp before the long-haired sniper answered. "She's dead. Banchina. Apparently she had been suffering from a nameless disease for a couple of years before she passed away" tears rolled down Yassopp's cheeks and he strangled a sob before continuing. "Ussopp,gods bless him, had been trying to cheer her up,by saying that he had seen our flag and that I was coming to take them with me. I know,I know,there's nothing I could've done about, the Grand Line would be far to dangerous for a woman and a child,even on one of the safer islands" here Yassopp drew a long breath and exhaled deeply before looking his captain in the eye. "I had to bring him with me, Shanks. I couldn't bear the thought of Ussopp staying put on that island without any one to care for him" he said before standing up. Shanks did the same before clasping a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"For what it's worth,I'm sorry. The least we can do now is introduce your son to the others and train him alongside the others. Knowing your boy,he has the same lust for adventures you do" the red-haired captain said with a knowing grin, which Yassopp returned. "Heh. Adventure's in the blood, there's no denying that" he said before he walked up to his son to talk to him about the plans for the future. Shanks in the meanwhile, walked up to the others and briefed them on the situation. "Apparently Yassopp's wife died a couple of years ago from a nameless disease and he brought his son here because he didn't want to leave him uncared for. I hope it's okay for you?" he asked of Garp,who had a mild expression on his face. "I'll make a bed for him with the others. I know what Yassopp goes through" the old man said wearily as he trudged towards the forest. Shanks looked at Luffy,who had gotten a little sad at the topic. "Grandma passed away while she and Gramps were moving here from the South Blue. The doctors all said that it was a nameless illness" the young boy explained to Shanks, who had gotten somber. He then looked at Luffy. "Hey Luffy" he said,gaining the boy's attention. "Can you do me a favor? Introduce yourself to Ussopp and try to befriend him? Unlike you,he doesn't have any one else. Can you do me that favor,Luffy?" he asked, getting a nod and a grin from Luffy,who ran off to where Yassopp and Ussopp were standing,talking to each other.

When Yassopp saw Luffy coming down to them, he grinned and gestured for his son. Luffy said: "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet'cha" followed by an ear-splitting grin. Ussopp grinned and said: "I'm the brave warrior of the seas, they call me Captain Ussopp!" Luffy tilted his head in a questioning manner and said: "Captain? Don't you need to have a ship and crew to call yourself that?" he asked innocently. Yassopp laughed. "Hahaha! Good question, Luffy!", causing Ussopp's face to go red and yelled: "Shut up! What do you know about being a pirate captain, anyway?" as his fists clenched and unclenched. Luffy stood in a thinking pose before saying: "Maybe not that much,but I've heard a lot of what I need from gramps and Shanks. After all, I would be a poor pirate captain if I didn't know what I need of supplies or crewmembers! Then again,I'm not setting sail until I'm seventeen, neither is Ace or Sabo,though they'll be leaving in about 6 years. I have to wait 9 years to set sail" the raven-haired boy said with a slight pout. Ussopp looked at him in wonder. "Are you really setting sail when you're 17? Do you have any crewmembers? What are you setting sail for?" he asked in rapid succession. "Shishishishi!Yep,nope,and I haven't really set up a goal,although.." Luffy's eyes widened along with his grin and he yelled out: "GRAMPS! I KNOW WHY I WANT TO SET SAIL!" Garp walked out and yelled back: "Oh? And what is your reason,boy?" Luffy grinned widely as he yelled out two words: "ONE PIECE!"

**Damn! Longest chapter so far! I'll try to keep the length somewhat the same for the rest of the future chapters,but no guarantees! Anyway, Lemme think what you guys think! No flamers though,they'll be ignored. Anyway,time to try to update my other stories! Sayonara!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Training,bandits and departure!

Another year went by fast,with Usopp bonding quickly with both Sabo and Ace in addition to and Shanks' crew drove the boys harder than ever after Luffy's declaration of wanting to find One Piece. Sabo had also followed up on his dream,revealing that he wants to join the Revolutionary Army when he's old enough. The boys also got a huge power-up when Garp revealed what he intended for the boys to do after dinner the evening Ussopp came to stay with them.

**FLASHBACK:**

"_Boys,come here!" Garp said as they went out on the terrace after dinner,which had been consisting of an assortment of tiger,crocodile and bear meat along with an assortment of fruits and vegetables from Dawn Island and a few fried fish. The boys,curious as they were, followed him to the basked Rayleigh had arrived with. "This is something I wish to give all of you,seeing as you will all be journeying to the most Dangerous sea in the world, for one purpose or another" he said as he looked over his three grandsons. Garp then opened the lid to reveal three weird-looking fruits. "Cool! Dessert!" Luffy yelled as he went to snatch all three if Shanks hadn't stopped him by holding him back. "No, is not dessert,that is three **Akuma no Mi.** No one can survive eating more than one,because each fruit is different and can grant you different powers,but at the cost of you never being able to swim again!" Shanks said,causing the faces of all the boys to go long. Shanks then looked at Rayleigh. "Do you know which fruits you have?" he asked the older pirate. Rayleigh smiled. "I know what two of them are. The last one,however,is somewhat of a mystery" he pointed to the fruit which had red swirls on it. "That is the **Mera-Mera no Mi**. The user can turn their entire body into flames and can not be hit by ordinary weapons unless they're imbued with **Armament Haki.** It is a very powerful **Logia **-type" he then pointed to a light blue fruit with white swirls "That is the **Kaze-kaze no mi.** It gives the user the ability to control wind, along with other things. Like the **Mera Mera no mi**, it is also a powerful **Logia **-type." then he pointed to the last one, a dark orange fruit with a pattern that could resemble fox tail. "I am not certain,but I suspect that it could be the mythical **Inu-Inu no Mi Model:Kyuubi no Kitsune**. I do not know much about this fruit, aside from the fact that it is a very powerful **Zoan **-type and that whoever has it gains the ability to turn into a fox. I suspect there is more, but the user will have to find out by themselves." Rayleigh finished. Garp then said: "You each decide who gets which fruit,we are not pressuring anyone" as he looked each of his grandsons in the eyes. Luffy,Ace and Sabo all looked at each other as they each grabbed a fruit without looking and took a huge bite out of it. They almost had problems swallowing it,but they forced it down and continuing to eat the entire thing without taking eyes off each other. Only when there was nothing left, did they look away. _

_Ace lifted his arm,closed his eyes and it burst into flames. Sabo closed his eyes and braced himself as he soon became almost invisible,as if he was a part of the air itself. _

_Luffy, well he wondered why everyone was looking at him so funny. What he had failed to realize,was that he had shrunk and was currently on all fours. "Looks like you were right,Ray" came Shanks' voice. Garp smiled as he came forward with what Luffy recognized as the hallway mirror. "Look at yourself,kid" he said as he put the mirror in front of Luffy, who walked closer to it,only to back off in shock. "Hey,hey,hey, it's fine Lu" said Ace, smiling. "Just focus on turning back to human" said Rayleigh. _

_Luffy closed his eyes and tried to focus on turning back to normal,which proved to be a challenge when he noticed that not only was his eyesight loads better,although slightly different,but he noticed a lot more,like the sounds of a thousand crickets in his ears, although he knew that the crickets were a lot closer to the village than they were, or the smells of Makino the barmaids trademark sake. However,he also noticed a foul stench that was making its way to the village. He needed to bring that up, and **Fast! **_

_Luffy redoubled his efforts to turn normal, and soon enough he was back to his old self. He looked shocked at Garp. "There's some bad people heading towards the village,I think. I only say this because they smelled really bad! I mean,they smell worse than Ace after training, bad." Garp looked at Luffy. The boy was honest; he never had a doubt about that. Add to the fact that Kitsune could pick more up from smell alone than any human,and Garp had no doubt about it: bandits were heading towards the village._

_He looked at Shanks. "Would you mind watching the kids for a while? I'm just going to show Ray the village I grew up in" he asked as he looked Shanks in the eyes. Shanks knew what the older man had in mind,so he just smiled and said: "No,me and the guys can deal with them. Just be careful you two,hmm? Wouldn't want two old fossils like yourselves trip over a root and hurt yourself,now would we?" Shanks said with a laugh. _

_Garp gestured for Rayleigh to go with him before he yelled back to Shanks: "I want a spar when we get back, Red-hair!" causing the younger man to slump his shoulders as all the kids and his crew started laughing,knowing that the red-haired pirate was going to be tossed around like a ragdoll by the older, yet more powerful how he was betrayed by his own crew, Shanks grinned evilly at them and said: "Well,seeing as you all want to see me get beaten-" here his crewmates paled,knowing what he's aiming for. "-Then you can train the kids in **Haki** yourselves! Ace and Sabo,you'll want to start on **Armament Haki**,Ussopp,You'll be a sniper like you old man,so **Observation Haki **is the first thing we'll start you up on. We're leaving in about 4 months, so Luffy and Ace will start your **Conqueror's Haki** training with me the week before then. For now,Luffy you're practising** Armament **With Benn. I have a call to make,so no one interrupt me!" with that,Shanks walked inside while Lucky gathered Sabo and Ace, Yassopp took Ussopp, and Benn lured Luffy into the woods._

_**3 HOURS LATER:** _

_Garp and Rayleigh came back to the house when they noticed A: the kids weren't around, B:Shanks' Lieutenants were not to be seen and C: Shanks himself was on the terrace, drunk off his ass. Fuming as he saw this, Garp marched up to the porch,grabbed Shanks by his coat and **THREW** the man into the ocean!_ **(AN: it's a distance of approx. the length of six full trailers parked in a straight line after each other)** _"WHAT THE HELL?!" was the first thing Shanks screamed as he resurfaced. "That's my line,Red-Hair. What the hell do you think you're doing? Sending off your men with the kids just so you can get drunk?! I did not invite you into my home for this!" growled Garp,causing Shanks to actually fear for his life. The red-haired captain then sighed. "I know,I'm sorry. I figured I'd punish the guys by having them train the kids instead of me since they laughed at me when you left.I had a call to make anyway,so it actually fit perfectly. Until after that call,I found myself with nothing to do,so I figured I'd enjoy my sake in peace and quiet until you returned" the red-haired man said with a look of shame on his features. "Who were you calling?" Garp asked. _

"_A contact of mine here in the East Blue. I called him about some supplies, which should be here in a week's time. I ordered some of the essentials for when the kids set sail,except for Sabo, of course,I figured you'd call Dragon about that anyway. But I'm giving them a Den-Den each, along with a Log Pose for Ace and Luffy. Also,since I've noticed the boys have been sparring each other with old lead pipes,I'm thinking of getting them a weapons,so they don't have to rely on their devil fruits in fights" Shanks finished with a small smile,getting nods of approval from the two elders. _

"_All right. I'll forgive you this time Shanks. But I'm warning you. One more slip-up like this,and you will leave this island before your crew can get the chance to pick you up. Understood?" Garp said with a glare,causing Shanks to swallow and nod his head shakily. **Yonko** or not,compared to Garp and Rayleigh,Shanks is still the apprentice._

_**Timeskip: 4 months later**_

_Shanks and his crew were standing on the pier waiting for the **Red Force** to return. Ace,Sabo,Luffy,Ussopp and Garp were with them. "You're leaving for good this time?" Garp asked. Shanks nodded. "yeah. I'm getting landsick of staying here any longer. Besides,I have to get back to the New World. The life of a Yonko is never peaceful,you know?" he finished with a lopsided grin. Garp smirked in return. " care of yourself **Akagami**.Until we meet again" he said as he stuck his hand out. _

_Shanks' eyes widened for a moment before sticking his own hand out to shake with the older man. "There it is!" called Luffy as he pointed to the horizon. Shanks and his men turned around, and sure enough, there was the **Red Force**. Shanks then turned to all the kids. "Now then,this isn't a permanent goodbye. Think of it more as a 'see you later',okay?" he said and the boys all nodded,even Ussopp. "And by the way" Shanks added as he looked to Luffy. "Since your ambition is to surpass me" he said as he took off his straw hat and put it on Luffy's head. "I entrust this to you. Return it when you've become a great pirate,alright?" he said as he stood up. Luffy tilted his head so that Shanks wouldn't see his tears of joy that someone has acknowledged his dream. _

_Shanks then turned to Ussopp. "Take care of your captain,eh? He's something special" he said as Ussopp nodded. He had a somewhat rocky relationship with the red-head,but understood that his father made his choice and was never forced away from Ussopp and his mother. Ussopp had made his own ambition clear: to surpass his father as a sniper, and to travel all the seas with Luffy as his captain. _

_Soon enough, the **Red Force **had departed Dawn Island and Garp ushered the kids to Makino's Bar for a meal before they went back to training._

_**Timeskip: 6 years later! Ace and Sabo:17 Luffy and Ussopp:14**_

_Today was the day. The brothers would part ways. Ace would set sail on his own,while Sabo was being picked up by Dragon personally. They all had breakfast together, and sparred with each other until they noticed a small boat with three people in it were approaching. One was a man of a monstrous size, one of the __**Schischibukai**__, "Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma. Another was a skinny,orange-haired girl, wearing black pants, a pink blouse and a crimson newspaper cap with gold goggles attached. She was the Fish-man karate assistant of the Revolutionaries,simply known as Koala. The leader,however walked in front of them was as tall as Garp,with semi-long,spiky black hair kept most prominent feature however,was a large red tattoo on the left side of his face. He was __**The World's Worst Criminal**__, leader of the Revolutionary army, Monkey D. Dragon. As the three approached,Luffy ran inside to get Garp while Ace and Sabo looked straight at the man,their heads held high. Ussopp had, unknown to everyone else, hidden on the roof, his trusty slingshot in his hand and was keeping a steady eye on the newcomers. Then Luffy ran out and yelled: "Ussopp!There are people to meet!" causing Ussopp to swallow and he packed his things into his bag and climbed down as fast as he could before he ran up to Luffy, who was waiting with an appraising eye on the man that was supposed to be his father. When they got close enough, Dragon stopped and looked on the boys with a small smile. "Now then,I know two of these boys,the other two however I do not. Can I assume one of you two is Sabo? My father was adamant that I came to pick him up personally" Dragon said. "With good reason,brat! Your own son has gone 14 years without knowing you,all he knows about you,he has from me" Garp said as he walked out to stop behind the boys with a stern look at his son,causing Dragon to flinch. "Father,I-" "Am running a world wide criminal organization and do not have time, nor do you want your son to be hunted by the marines for being your son. Like it or not,brat, but your son will be hunted eventually anyway. In three years, your own offspring is setting sail to take over where my old captain left." Garp said,causing Dragon's eyes to widen before he set his eyes on Luffy, who was looking at him with an empty look in his eyes. Dragon sighed as he lowered himself to Luffy's level. "Luffy. I regret not being there for you,and I realize I should've kept more in touch with family. Can you forgive me?" he asked honestly. Luffy, who had trained non-stop with his devil fruit powers, had trained his ears to detect when someone is lying to him,and the man in front of him was sincere. This caused a wide grin on Luffy's face as he looked his father in the eyes. "I can forgive you,but only because I understand how important your work is. You'll have to work for my trust. Thanks to my devil fruit, I have become pretty good at detecting lies, and it's only the fact that I heard the truth, that I run this decision" Luffy said, his voice getting harder. Dragon was shocked as he looked at his father. "You let him eat a devil fruit?" Garp nodded. "That's right, in fact three of the four boys in front of you have a devil fruit" the old man said. "I did this for them, they need the element of surprise considering they're all going to the Grand Line" causing Dragon to nod as he looked the boys over. He then looked at Luffy again. "So,care to let your old man know what devil fruit you have?" he asked with a smile. Luffy grinned. As Dragon looked on,the grin became bigger,as teeth changed,along with the rest of the boy,who soon was covered in red-orange fur and had nine bushy tails swishing behind him. At this,Koala squeeked and hid partially behind the legs of Kuma,who was still standing,with his bible in his hands. Dragon looked the giant fox over before he started to laugh. "Gahahaha! How did you-no,don't tell me,it was your old pal Rayleigh,wasn't it?" Dragon asked his father,who smiled guilty at the statement._

_Dragon then looked at Ace,Ussopp and Sabo. "So, what devilfruits do you have?" he asked. Ace smirked as he became covered in flames, while Sabo was becoming nigh invisible. "We ate the __**Mera-Mera no mi **__and the __**Kaze-kaze no mi**__!" Ace said. Dragon nodded. "Useful fruits you have. I hope you have been trained in __**Haki**__ to counter the weaknesses?" he asked Ace,who nodded. Sabo cut in. "We were trained by Gramps along with __**Akagami no Shanks**__ and his top lieutenants. __**Haki**__ is only one of the things they trained us in" the blonde said. Dragon looked at him with an appraising eye. "I take it you are Sabo?" he asked,gaining a sharp nod from the blonde boy. Dragon then fixed his eyes on Ussopp. "Then who are you?" to his credit,Usopp did not resort to his previously cowardly ways. Rather, he looked Dragon straight in the eye and said: "I am Ussopp,son of Yassopp. My father left me here after my mother passed away. I was lucky enough to be taken in by Garp-san to train with the others. I am the second-in command to Luffy,and our future crew's head sniper." To say Dragon was impressed was an understatement. Instead,he adressed Sabo. "Gather your belongings and say your goodbyes. We don't have much time until the marines get news that I was in the East Blue" Sabo nodded and ran inside to get his backpack. Dragon then looked at Ace. "What are you setting sail for?" Ace smiled and said: "Adventure. Whether or not I'll end up as a pirate,is yet to be decided. I need a crew anyway, but I guess I'll find that while sailing" Dragon smiled at him. "If you want,you can sail with us until we reach an island where you can buy a boat of your own. We devil's spawn ought to stick together,eh?" Dragon said in a joking manner as he winked at his old man. Garp just huffed,while Ace grinned. After hearing about his father's prowess in battle and how several described him as a devil,Ace had learned to see the humour in that particular statement, and he graciously nodded his thanks. Then Sabo came running back, carrying both his and Ace's backpacks. "I heard what you said,so I took the liberty of gathering your stuff for you" Sabo said with a smile at Ace,who thanked him as he grabbed his bag from Sabo. The older brothers turned to Luffy and Ussopp. "Remember,you have our Den-Den numbers,so give us a call when you reach Reverse Mountain,okay? I'll see if I can't meet up with you in Paradise" Ace said. "Same for me,unless I have an assignment,but then you'll always be able to reach me anyway" Sabo said. "Be careful guys. We'll miss you" Luffy said as he hugged both his brothers at the same time. Ussopp did the same as he said: "Next time we meet,all four of us will have a devil fruit". This shocked the two others along with Luffy. Dragon walked up to Luffy and Ussopp and handed a bag to Luffy. "A pirate can't be flat broke,now can they? Here's your starting capital, 20 million Beri. That should be enough to get a decent size ship good enough to last you until Water 7, at least. I wish you both good luck. Here's my Den-Den number,in case you need our help,or vice versa. Judging from your goal,we have the same ambition. What do you say?" Luffy looked at Ussopp briefly before looking Dragon in his eyes and nodded ass he wrote down his own Den-Den number and gave it to Dragon, who smiled. "Take care of Sabo,will you?" Luffy asked. Dragon put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'll do my best,Luffy. I'll see you later son" he then waved to Garp. "Don't die,old man! We need you alive for many years yet!" he yelled,causing Garp to go red in the face as the group of five went into the small boat and dissappear. Garp then sighed as he put a hand on each of the two teen's shoulders. "Come on. It's nearly dinner time" he said as he lead the two boys inside._

_**Final Timeskip: 3 years later Luffy and Ussopp: 17**_

Both Ace and Sabo had called Luffy,Garp and Ussopp on a number of times since they left the island. Sabo had reported an astounding amount of progress while training in the revolutionary army, and was quickly on his way to become a commander, while Ace had his own pirate crew, who later managed to be a part of a greater crew: The Whitebeard Pirates. Ace was reluctant to let his crew be forgotten like that,so to compromise,Whitebeard himself had let Ace form his own Division with his former crew and a couple of the older crewmates. Garp laughed hard when he talked to Ace that day. After a small argument over the Den-Den, Ace had reluctantly handed the snail over to Whitebeard with a small look of shame on his face. To say that the giant man was surprised to hear the voice of one of the people he least expected to ever see or hear from again was an understatement.

_**Flashback:**_

"_Well,well,well. How's life as a **Yonko,**Newgate?" came the voice from the snail, causing the large man to take a false swallow on his sake and spit it back out. "How the bleeding hell are you alive,you old Monkey?" he growled into the snail. "Calm your ass down Newgate,you're scaring your own crew. Besides I want to talk to you about Ace" Garp said calmly. Whitebeard sneeked a look at Ace,who was glaring at the floor in shame. "I'm listening" he said, calmer than he had just been. And so,Garp had told the man everything that had happened since the Roger Pirates disbanded, including what he knew of Ace's heritage and his own family._

"_One of these days,after he arrives in Paradise,my grandson will call you. Whether or not you'll listen to him yourself is up to you. His wish is to follow in my old captain's footprints, and I know,he'd be glad for your help when the time comes that his crew will cross the **Red Line**. That's all I have to say. Good luck Ace,don't fuck it up!"-**Click!**_

_**Flashback End!**_

Since then,Garp had trained Luffy and Ussopp into the ground on a daily basis, either by sparring with both of them at once,one by one or simply by tossing their asses into the jungle to spar with either tigers,bears,gorillas or crocodiles. Needless to say,the small household made a small fortune on selling animal skins and some of the meat, considering Garp had a massive storage of all kinds of food and was nowhere near of running out any time soon. He had also started to help the boys build their own ship, so they would have a bit more than a dinghy when they would set sail. Ussopp also proved himself to be a capable artist,and had drawn a sketch that Luffy fell for immediately. "That's our flag! I want that drawn on all the sails and flags!Can you do it Ussopp?" the straw-hat wearing teen asked with a huge grin. "Of course I can,what do you take me for?" Ussopp asked with a teasing grin. "I'm also gonna have that as a tattoo!" Luffy suddenly said. "What are you gonna have as a tattoo?" came Garps voice from behind them. Luffy turned with a grin. "Hi gramps! Ussopp just made our sail! I want that as a tattoo!" Luffy said with a grin. Garp smirked. "Good Work Ussopp. This is way better than what this monkey would've been able to draw anyway"he said as he pointed his thumb towards Luffy,who pouted slightly. Garp then looked at Luffy and said: "If you want that as a tattoo,I suppose I can help you with that. There's a new tattoo studio open in the village,I was planning on checking out the owner there anyway,so I'll do that for you as a going away-present,how do that sound? I'll cover for you too Ussopp, after all,you're the designer of this" he finished as he looked at an exstatic Luffy and a grinning Ussopp. "Yosh! Thank you,Garp-san!" Ussopp said as he bowed deeply to the old man. "Awesome,thanks,Gramps! Could I get my ears pierced too?" Luffy asked excitedly as the trio walked towards the village. "Gahahaha! you're two day from being 17,Luffy! You can do whatever the hell you want!" Garp laughed as they kept walking.

The tattoo artist proved to be a young woman, somewhere between 19-20 years old. When Garp placed their orders, she got interested. "Say,this looks like a pirate flag. You guys pirates?" she asked curiously with a raised eyebrow at Ussopp while she was doing Luffy's backpiece. "Yeah,we're setting out in 2 days, so far it's only us,but I'm sure we'll be able to pick up some nakama before going to the Grand Line" Ussopp said as he leaned back with an excited grin on his face. She smiled at his excited. "Grand Line,eh? That's a lofty goal boys. Sounds like you could need some help,going to the Pirate graveyard. Not to mention if you don't get caught by the marines before that time either,I heard that there's a quite ruthless marine in place in Loguetown nowadays. Ever since he got placed there,no pirate has ever gotten across from the East Blue to Reverse Mountain. Say, could I interest you in an old friend of mine.

He's a swordsman,and a damn good one at that. He's lazy as fuck at times,and his sense of direction is blown to shit, but either way,I get the sense that being with you guys might at least fix one of those two problems. Thing is,last I heard he managed to get into trouble in Shells town, a couple days sail from here. If you meet him, give him this,okay? It will tell him that you guys can be trusted." she said as she gave a slip of paper to Ussopp,who took it with a smile. "We'll see if we can't make a pirate of him after we help him" he said as he pocketed the note. Luffy,who was still getting tattooed,had just as well dozed off while she was doing her thing,and he was awoken by the sudden stop of the buzzing tattoo needle. "Oh?I'm done?" he asked curiously.

The artist nodded. "Yup. That is one hell of a backpiece you there kid. What's your name?" she asked. "Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meetcha" he answered with a grin she just couldn't help but copy. "Monkey D.? I've heard of a Monkey D. that sailed the Grand Line years ago, you know who I'm talking about?" she asked. Luffy just laughed. "Shishishishishi,yep,that's my Gramps" he answered, causing her to almost trip over backwards if not for the man who was standing behind her. "Careful there miss,wouldn't want you to hurt yourself,now would we?" came the voice of Garp, who had just stepped inside to check on the boy's progress. "Yo,Gramps!Check it out!" said Luffy as he turned his back to him,letting Garp see the entire thing. The motive was amazing,a picture of a regular human skull with crossbones,but the skull had two fox-like ears with two gold rings through the left ear. The entire thing was amazingly coloured and shaded in just the right places. Garp whistled. "That is one hell of a tattoo Luffy. Now,let Ussopp take your place,I am sure he wants some changes to it to symbolize him,am I right Ussopp?" Garp said as he looked at Ussopp, who smirked slightly. "Nothing ever goes by you without notice,does it Garp-san? You are of course,correct" Ussopp said as he showed the artist a few changes to the skull. She looked sceptical at it,but got to work after Ussopp had told her he wanted it on his upper right arm. Luffy stepped up to his grandfather. "She knows you by name, and now also by face. I don't know why,but the reason she almost fell was because I said I was your grandson" Luffy muttered to Garp, who looked at the tattoo artist in confusion. She was decades younger than him,so how did she know him,and why did she turn so damn nervous when she heard his name?

He shrugged it off. He was a part of the Pirate King's crew,of course his name is famous. Moreso if people realized that Dragon was his son, and he'd probably be dragged back to the spotlight once Luffy had made his splash in the Grand Line,so he shrugged it off. It didn't matter. Then he remembered something. "Luffy we have to go. There's something I must show you" Garp said to his grandson. "What?Can't we wait for Ussopp? Can't-?" Luffy's voice stopped as he looked at Garp,who looked to have aged thirty years in a moment. Luffy turned to Ussopp. "OI,Ussopp!Me and gramps are going ahead to get started on dinner!" Luffy said as he looked Ussopp in the eyes, signaling something to him. Ussopp nodded as he said: "Okay!Don't finish eating before I get there,you hear me? I know how much of a glutton you can be Luffy!" he shouted as the duo walked back to the house. When they got there,he told Luffy to sit on the couch in the living room while he went into his room to retrieve something. What he came out with, was a picture of a younger Garp, along with a woman and a kid. "This-"Garp said- "-is your grandmother,may she rest in peace, there is me,and that brat right there is your old man" Garp said,causing Luffy's eyes to widen. "Really?" he said,excited of seeing some of his family's past. He then looked closer at the picture. "This doesn't look like anywhere near Dawn Island" he commented. Garp nodded. "It isn't. When your father was younger,we used to live in the South Blue,on an island known as Baterilla. It was the home island of Ace's mother,Rouge. We lived there partially because it was a place no one would expect to find me, and partially in order to protect Rouge from the marines. When the time came that the marines came to look for any clues as to whether or not Roger had any descendants,we fled the island and came here,back to my home island. It was on the very beach outside here that Roger and I first met" Garp said with a nostalgic smile. "He was barely a couple of years older than me,maybe in his twenties or so, when he met a slightly stupid young fucker who wanted nothing more than to join the marines to prove everyone wrong. He turned my life up-side down that night,and I haven't looked back since" he finished as he showed a picture of a group of people. "This is the Roger Pirates a year or so before I retired" he said as he pointed at the different people in it. "In the middle of everyone there,there you see us; there's Rayleigh on the right side and me on the left and of course there's Roger in the middle along with Shanks and Buggy right in front of him" he said as he pointed to them before he chuckled. "I was not the second person Roger had picked up in the East Blue,but I ended up as third-in-command almost immediately. I don't really know why. Guess the old man saw something in me,but the hell if I know what it is,even after all these years. Anyway,there's something I want to give you,as an early birthday present" Garp said as he gestured to a small chest that Luffy had not seen him take out. Luffy looked questioningly at his grandpa. Garp smiled. "Open it" he said. Luffy did so carefully, and his eyes widened at the sight. "It's my old brass knuckles and throwing knives" Garp said. "I've lost count on how many times these knives have saved my life. The handle is bone of Seaking,and the blades are Seastone Prism. Extremely useful when fighting devilfruit users" Garp finished as he looked at the knives fondly. He looked at Luffy. "Take the knives, they will come in handy. Remember, only use them if you're sure it's a kill, and only use them towards Devil fruit users" Garp said strictly. Luffy looked determined at his grandfather. "I will, though I'll avoid killing if possible. That doesn't mean I will leave every bastard that stands against me alive,but not unless I see any other option" Luffy said as he picked up the knives. Garp then reached into the chest to pick up something that lay underneath the brass knuckles. "Take this too. It's a little weary,but it should still serve you well"he said as he put a weapon belt around Luffy's waist. Luffy's eyes gleamed as he put the knives in their holsters. They quickly started to fill with tears as he looked at Garp. The old pirate seemed to have aged 30 years since they picked up the contents of the chest. "You alright,Gramps?" he asked. The old man looked at Luffy, and his eyes was filled with emotion. "After you and Ussopp leave,I'll burn the house down. I'll destroy all evidence we were ever here and follow Rayleigh to Saobady Archipelago. Take everything you want as memory, cause everything else will be gone in a couple of days" Garp said as he sat down. Luffy walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do it tomorrow. You can sail with us until we reach Loguetown,and then you can go on ahead. I will not leave you alone with this burden,Gramps,no matter how much you want to" Luffy said as he walked outside on the porch and sat down on a chair to meditate until Ussopp showed up.

30 minutes later,Ussopp showed up to see Luffy sitting on a chair outside,meditating in an unusual serious pose. "Ussopp" he said as the long-nosed teen came closer. "What's up,Luffy?" he asked. "Bring all you want from the house outside. Tomorrow, we set sail. Gramps will join us until Loguetown,and then he'll go ahead to Saobady Archipelago. Before we sail, we will burn the house down to not give the marines any idea that we were ever here" Luffy said. Ussopp's eyes widened and he was about to say something until he noticed Luffy was silently crying,and he understood why. This island had been Luffy's entire life, and it was probably killing him inside to have to say that sentence. Ussopp then looked up. "A pirate's life for me" he mumbled as he walked inside to collect his weapons and gear. The boys proceeded to fill up their ship with everything they needed,including personal effects that Luffy put into the captain's cabin and Ussopp put into the male shipmates' room. After a while,Garp,came out with his own stuff and put it in the male's room with Ussopp. He then walked into the forest and came back half an hour later with firewood and proceeded to make a bonfire. Luffy then walked into the house, fished out the remaining meat from the pantry,and walked out to where Garp and Ussopp was standing. "Do we have any barrels of salt?" he asked. Ussopp nodded. "Yeah. We already put them down in the cargo hold" he said. Luffy nodded. "We'll have one last meal here on the beach. Tomorrow-" Luffy said as he looked at the house that had been his home for 17 years. "-we set sail!" he exclaimed,getting solemn nods from his vice-captain and grandfather as they walked on board the ship to fill the barrels. "That reminds me!" garp said and ran up to the house. He returned carrying a crate. "No pirate ship is complete without booze. We can go to Makino's tomorrow to buy more before we leave" Garp said with a grin,which was quickly copied by the two youngsters before they started to work on their last dinner at Dawn island.

The next day,the trio woke up early to head over to Makino's bar. To be honest, they knew the bar was closed,but Makino herself was always an early riser, so hopefully she would let them in without alerting any of the villagers. Garp rapped his knuckles on the door twice before they heard the sound of someone scurrying over to unlock it. "Garp?" she asked. "Luffy?Ussopp? What's going on?" she asked as she saw the grave expressions on their faces. "Sorry to bother you this early,Makino, but we need some alcohol for the boys' journey" Garp said with a light smile, that she copied a little nervously. "Oh-Oh. Okay,Umm,please feel free to help yourselves. It's the least I could do" she said. "Don't be ridiculous,girl. We intend to pay you. After all,we need to close our tabs here while we're at it" Garp said. Makino's eyes widened. "Are-Are you going with them?" she asked. Garp sighed. "I'm getting old,Makino. I am going to retire on Saobady Archipelago before anyone from the marines can sniff out that I am still alive. Luffy and Ussopp has been taught all I could teach them,they'll be fine" he said as he picked up a couple of crates of beer while Luffy came out carrying two crates of whisky and Ussopp carried a couple of crates of sake. Makino let out a slightly stressed sigh. "So,uh,I'll-I'll never see any of you again?" she asked. Luffy put down the crates he was carrying. "You'll probably start seeing us on wanted posters, I mean, me and Ussopp are going as pirates after all,we'd be horrible if we didn't get a wanted poster!" Luffy said. He then proceeded to give Makino a hug. "Thank you for everything,Makino. Here,take this" he said as he released her and gave her a paper note. "That is my Den-Den number,so you can call me anytime,okay? And I'll send Shanks your way when I next see him" he finished with a smirk as she blushed deep crimson. "Leave her alone Luffy,she doesn't need to hear your lame-ass jokes" Garp growled. Luffy grinned. "No joke, gramps. Far as I heard, Shanks had fallen hard for our dear Makino-chan here" Luffy said with a grin. Garp opened his mouth to speak,but changed his mind. "Hmmph,if that's the case,maybe I should take you with me and drop you off with him while I'm at it" Garp said,causing Makino to flush and her eyes to widen. "Can-Can you do that?" she asked him,hopefully. Garp nodded. "I have the brat's Den-Den number, the moment we step foot on Saobady,I'll call him to the island, so he can pick you up. It's going to be dangerous,though,so you'll need something to protect yourself with" he said. Makino smiled before going into her appartment in the back of the bar and came back out with a backpack along with a small dagger and a crossbow. "I've been practising every day between the opening hours of the bar. I couldn't let people get suspicious"she said. Garp smirked. "That's good. Well,if you're coming with us, you might as well know, we intend to set the house on fire before we go,to eradicate any trace of us ever being here. You understand why,don't you?" he asked her seriously. Makino's eyes widened as she understood exactly why they intended to do this. "To prevent finding any clues to where Luffy and Ussopp came from, or you for that matter" she said,causing Garp to nod. "Right,well,we should get moving. The villagers will be up soon,and I want to be gone before they do" Garp said. The other three nodded,and soon enough,Makino,Garp,Ussopp and Luffy was standing there on the beach,watching their home through many years burn to the ground. Luffy and Ussopp,being the youngest, couldn't help but shedding a few tears over the home they just lost. Makino did not have the same connection to the house,but she knew,from what Garp had told her, that it was on this beach that Gol D. Roger had approached a 17-year old Monkey D. Garp. In one way she thought it fitting that they would set sail from here. Luffy then turned around and walked towards their ship.

It was a medium sized ship with two masts, 2 cannons on the port and starboard sides and a standard anchor. The wheel was placed over the captain's quarter,with the entry to the ladies' bedrooms on the left and the men's to the right. The galley was placed underneath the captains quarters, between the crew bedrooms. The kitchen was fully stocked, from utensils to spices, and the galley itself could room as many as 12. on the deck under the galley was the cargo hold and prison cells, in case they needed to take hostages. It had taken them three years to build it,with blood,sweat and tears(and a lot of cursing from Garp), but it was to become their new home for a foreseeable future.

"Alright,let's get moving he said. "So where's first stop,captain?" Makino asked. "To shells town. We have a swordsman to pick up!" he said as the ship, **The Sea fox**, left Dawn island,never to be seen around there ever again.


End file.
